Of love and adventure
by Starysky205
Summary: If anyone had told him that the kingdom of the Atlantic Ocean and its surrounding seas would hide what he had been searching for, well, he wouldn't have believed it, and honestly, it was better this way ((Way more characters than I can fit))
1. Prologue

1\. Prologue

The Sburb was a known ship amongst pirates, not because it was leaded by a fearsome pirate, no matter how good Captain Strider was, but because it was believed that it was a beacon for sorcery ad therefore only bad luck could come to those who traveled in it. This was why its crew had changed many times, but a few remained in the cursed vessel, Captain Strider being one of them of course, together with his younger brother and four more crew's mates

The watercraft wasn't the only thing supposedly cursed, the Striders were as well, this was mostly thanks to their demonic eyes, they hid them with magic but the rumors spread nonetheless and seriously, superstitions could get a person killed

But one rumor about both the Striders and the Sburb was true, and perhaps because of this it also was the one people believed the least, yet if you were told that the Striders had contact and an agreement with merpeople, then you should probably believe it's true

Thanks to all of this, the six members of the Sburb were recruiting men for their newest expedition, a search for the much unknown waters of change, but no pirate was willing to get themselves cursed

A hooded figure walked through the crowd of the bar; it stopped close to the table where the younger of the two Striders sat, catching his attention

"It zemz to me that your brother iz embarking into a dangerouz mizzion" said the stranger

It was a female voice, one that dragged the eses turning them into something more akin of a zed, almost as if she were trying to imitate the sound of a snake when speaking

"What is it to you?" he asked

"Let'z juzt zay that if you let me talk to him I'll give you what he wantz and, if I feel grassiouz, alzo what he needz" she said

"Wow, too much information lady" he said

She laughed, it was an almost chirpy sound and he feared for a moment that he had crossed a troll

"I think I may have confuzed you" she said

Pale, thankfully very human, hands rose up to her hood and dropped it to reveal a similarly pale complexion with a few freckles, the weird orange coloring of red heads, and finally what really caught his attention, bright violet eyes

"Then again the lazt time I zaw you, you were extremely young" she said

He looked at her again and noticed fangs barely showing in her smile, a dangerous aura surrounded her; he realized this was a mermaid in human form, one who was smiling at him with amusement

He stood up and signaled her to follow, wining another smile from her, it was better if he did what she asked, they were going to be crossing the waters of the merpeople soon and it wouldn't do to have them sink their ship because he made one angry

His brother was walking to the bar, probably to find him; he stopped when he saw him, his eyes then looked at the red-haired woman and widened

"Fanssy zeeing you again Ztrider" she said

"What are you doing here Aresta" he asked

"I think you know the anzwer to that" she said

The waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and every sea that drains in it, were the territory of the merpeople, The Caribbean was however neutral territory, therefore pirate territory. It was on these dangerous waters that the outcasts of the troll merfolk were left to their own devices

There were more than a thousand reasons why Karkat Vantas had ended up here, there was at least half as many for Sollux Captor to be here as well, there was quarter that amount for the mermaid that was swimming them, what didn't make sense was the female mertroll that followed her

As they approached Karkat noticed that only the troll had a soul fish, the mermaid had either already found her mate or had none at all. Karkat concentrated on her, she had white hair matching with almost silver-looking scales, the human skin was a tone of pink so pale it could've been confused with white as well, this lack of color combined with the pair of bright red eyes showed that she was an albino, he glanced at his two soul fishes even though he knew both were far too dark to fit that color, he even spared a glance at Sollux's knowing full well neither was red at all. He then looked at the troll, she reminded him of someone who wasn't all that kind, like all mertrolls, her scales reflected her blood color, hers were a bright blue just like her eyes which was why Karkat had thought she didn't fit in the picture, her soul fish was a dark green color that could easily be part of the hemospectrum so why was she here?

The mertroll saw behind the mermaid as if following her, it occurred to him that she probably knew this waters as well as they did, which meant not at all, the mermaid on the other hand seemed to be just in her element, finally they reached speaking distance

"Hey there, nice to see you aren't floating in your own blood yet" said the mermaid

It was said in a joking tone, Karkat understood why, it was better than to talk seriously about it, Sollux let out a chuckle and was rewarded with a straight smile, it was still odd not to see fangs on merpeople

"So, here's the rundown, you are now in the neutral territory, which means it's home for sirens and passing pirates, so if you wanna live you'd better follow me" said the mermaid

Karkat nodded and saw Sollux do the same, one didn't mess around in these waters alone, much less if you didn't know where everything lead to, Sirens were just as fond of merfolk meat as they were of human's

"Luckily you three are the only ones for today, so let's get going" said the mermaid

They started swimming into what Karkat guessed to be the ocean, if the depth level was anything to go by

"So how about we introduce ourselves on the meanwhile and then you can ask me anything you want to" said the mermaid

"That sounds fine with me" said the blue blood

Karkat grumbled and Sollux shrugged, the mermaid smiled again

"Well, I'm Casidy Brhet, my job is to get you somewhere safe before nighttime, thankfully it isn't all that far" said Casidy

She then looked at the blue-blooded troll, she smiled in a supporting manner and the troll returned the smile

"I'm Aranea Serket, I'm from the Idean Ocean, I was part of a revolutionary movement, so I ended up here" said the female mertroll

"Aye, we had a bunch of you guys appearing here, we had to lift the barrier that connects directly with it and everything, it made my brother go nuts, it wa beautiful" said Casidy

Aranea gave her an odd look, something between confusion and concern, the mermaid was simply joking, but he guessed maybe the blue blood didn't understand that, red eyes moved to Sollux

"You I'm curious about, your soul fish is a familiar color, I mean, the one that isn't mustard like the rest of you" said Casidy

"I'm Thollux Captor, me and thith dumbath are from the Pacific" said Sollux pointing at him

"I can introduce myself just fine asshole" said Karkat

"Ah, you're from the batter bitch territory, that explains why she would kick you out even though your soul link is tied to someone of the merfolk, she isn't too fond of us" said Casidy

"I'm surprised you even know the difference" said Karkat

"Well, our queen is a huge dork when it comes to anything related with fate or magic, which obviously includes mating rituals for all merfolk alike" said Casidy

Karkat thinks he already likes the merpeople ruler, he had heard about her, some of his so called friends had seen her thanks to their higher ranking on the spectrum. Terezi, a teal blood that was on the justice system, said she smelled like corals which made no sense to Karkat but was the best description he had. Casidy seemed to like her platonically, they probably got along well, and if a queen was ok with being friends with an albino mermaid maybe he would last more than a few days


	2. Atlantis

2\. Atlantis

By the time sunlight left they reached a city, by the castle that stood in the middle of it this had to be the capital of the merpeople kingdom

"Welcome, to the sunken city of Atlantis" said Casidy

==Be Karkat

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you are looking at the mythological city of Atlantis, only it appears is very much real and very much under water, you've heard only legends about it because trolls had never ventured away from the Pacific, outcasts, on the other hand, were never let back on the troll empire so no one knew much, the queen of the merpeople didn't mind having to cross the Antarctic to get to reunions

Atlantis is far more colorful than Alternia ever was, the castle being the only monochromic thing in the place, which is white in contrast with the black castle of Alternia, then you see something akin to orange moving towards it, you don't have the time to ponder who or what it was as two mermen swim to your group. One of them has yellow scales to go with blonde hair, his eyes are green but not a shade you'll see on the hemospectrum, but the other one… even when his brown scales and hair didn't say much, his eyes did, they were a grayish blue, a stormy blue that could have fitted perfectly, if that merman had been a troll, you would have wanted to be in his presence even less that you had wanted to be in the other blue blood here, thankfully he wasn't, they are both carrying weapons and you figured they are soldiers of some sort

"Greg!" said Casidy

The mermaid was hugging the green eyed merman in the blink of an eye, by the way the expression on the male softened you figure they're bid, you repress an urge to smile, the other regarded them and sighed, then you notice the soul fishes, despite there being two you know immediately that they both belong to the same merman, the one with blue eyes, because one of them has the exact same coloring as said eyes while the other is orange, you know well that if he had found his mate none would be there by now, so they must be his

"Don't you have a job to do?" he asked

The mermaid glanced at him from where she was hugging the merman

"You're no fun Ben" said Casidy

"I do believe it'll be good to know who these strangers are" the green eyed merman finally spoke

The mermaid let out a huff of bubbles before letting go of him and put her hands on her hips, right where the skin met scales, in an annoyed manner

"I'll have you both know that these are today's refugees, I was just going to lead them to the castle so that our crazy ruler can decide what to do with them" said Casidy

"Robin had business on the surface but she should be back by now" said the one with blue eyes

"That explains why you're here and Jake isn't, really you'll have to join the trips on of this days Benedict, let Jake find his mate" said Casidy

The merman rolled his eyes and then looked at you, he frowned probably wondering why there was a mertroll with splotched grey and red scales, knowing the potion you generally used to cover them completely grey was losing effect, then his eyes widened in recognition

"I'll guide them the rest of the way" said Benedict

You feel weary at what might happen if you follow but you think it'll be worse if you don't, you fear meeting the ruler of the merpeople but feel curious about her, you also feel curious about this merman, you think they're connected to you somehow but you have no idea how so you end up following him without saying a word which has Sollux looking at you weird and the blue blood frowning for some reason


	3. Strange Queen

3\. Strange Queen

You realize the castle isn't as far as you first thought, then you realize this is actually the back of the castle and that the color you saw was just the garden, a coral rife filled with life, you see a few merfolk in the distance, probably tending to it, it's beautiful nonetheless

The inside of the castle was just as colorful as the outside, mostly because the windows were made of tinted glass, but also because of the decoration, there is nothing too fancy yet you think the castle back in Alternia pales in comparison, even though you didn't exactly have all that much time to look at it when you were there

The throne room is the place you like the most, the windows seem to be telling stories, but besides from the throne there's nothing of luxury here, yet it was full of beauty, on the throne sat a mermaid far younger than what you had expected, the moment you see her you realize what Terezi had meant whit "smells like corals"

The mermaid in front of you is a ginger and her scales share the orange-y color, her eyes are however a bright violet, which you guess is the reason why the ruler of your ex city even talked to her in the first place, her eyes widened when she saw you and then swam to you a smile forming on her face

"Magic!" she said

She was grabbing your hands then and pulling you with her much to your surprise as she beamed

"I can't believe it, my potionz getting to Alternia? That'z juzt too good" she said

The merman cleared his throat and she stopped swimming much to your relief, then she let out a laugh and let go of you

"I'm zorry, I got a little exited there, my name iz Robin Arezta, queen of the Atlantic kingdom" she said

You bow at her and she lets out a huff of bubbles, she's still smiling though

"Ah, I'll never get uzed to that, I'm nothing to bow at… let me guezz, zinsse you have the two red zoulfizhez you muzt be Karkat" said Robin

"How did you know that?" you ask

"Newz zpread fazt on water, I alzo waz expecting your arrival" said Robin winking

"Why?" you ask

"Well, you zee I'm the type to believe in mythz, mostly becauze I helped create zome of them, and I'm alzo the type to help thoze looking to create more, but there'z a prophecy involved thiz time zo I had to wait to make my move" said Robin

"Robin" said Benedict

The violet eyes rolled and she glared at him

"My bane wantz me to keep zecretive when in prezensse of thoze who aren't involved, zo I zhould deal with your friendz first" said Robin

Violet eyes then moved to the other two mertrolls in the room and the smile turned into something more proper and polite, a smile more fitting of a ruler than the one she had given you while speaking

"Zollux Captor and Aranea Zerket if I'm correct, zorry for butchering your namez, can't deal with the lizp" said Robin

Apparently you were right with the assumption that the blue blood reminded you of someone, she was obviously related to Vriska in some way, probably in the same way other trolls were related to each other merfolk or not

"Well, welcome to Atlantiz, let me zhow you the actual ssity, ok?" said Robin

She started swimming to a different door than the one you all entered from, you followed her first still curious about her and what she had been talking about, you slowed your rhythm when you saw the merman approaching her, something told you it wa best that you left the two alone, this gave Sollux the chance to catch up to you

"Thireouthly KK, when diid you become miithter popular?" asked Sollux

"You heard as much as I did dimwit" you say

Sollux rolls his eyes and looks at the queen

"There'th thomethiing thtrange about her, liike thhe hath thiith hiidden abiiliity or thomethiing" said Sollux

You feel that two, you remember her saying she helped create myths and wonder just how old she is, she doesn't look a day past 9 sweeps, but you know for a fact that the merpeople have been in the Atlantic for just as long as the Pacific's mertrolls, if not longer and you hadn't heard anything about a previous queen so that assumption might be wrong, you have no idea how she'll react if you ask her so maybe you'll wait a little

==Stop being Karkat


	4. Bane vision

4\. Bane vision

You stop being Karkat and ponder on using this opportunity to get a better outlook on things, then you realize that it might be even better to become one of the two who actually know what's going on, you can't be the seemingly young queen right now so you'll have to settle for someone else

==Be Benedict

You are now the best bane on Atlantis, Benedict Doe, you are swimming besides your kingdom's ruler and the person you call your friend, a mermaid that barely changed throughout the years, you've known her for the longest time and can verify that she looks about the same, maybe a bit more mature

You are busy wondering what's on her mind as per usual, so busy in fact that you almost don't notice when you get to the main plaza, which is bustling with activities, all sorts of merfolk move in the colorful city, one of the reasons you like it so much here, because no matter how many times Robin says she's no queen, you know damn well that she's the reason the Atlantic kingdom has citizens of all three parts of the merfolk, you also know that with how rare merpeople are it was this what made the kingdom so big in the first place, really Robin needed a reality check sometimes

Two familiar voices approach you; you recognize Jake and Jane even before the group stops, you think the different coloring of the northern merpeople has the trolls confused; it confused you when you first found out, the two make a short bow to Robin and she rolls her eyes but smiles anyways

"I zee you two got here in time, I have zome newcomerz here" said Robin

She then swam in between the two and smiled again, first she pointed to Jake

"The merman in the green zcalez iz Jake Englizh, our page, he'z in charge with the long range weaponry and other military-izh ztuff" explained Robin

She then pointed to the blue blooded troll looking at Jake

"I'd like you to give thiz lady here a tour" said Robin

"Of course, we can start right now, if you'd follow me" said Jake

The troll smiles and then gives a bow to Robin before following Jake, then Robin turns to Jane and the black-haired grins

"I'm ready for my orders your highness" said Jane making a mock salute

Robin laughs, you know she likes Jane because of the way the other treats her so normally

"Well, thiz gal in the really bright blue zcalez iz our only DI, alzo captain of one of the army'z divizionz" explained Robin

Then she looked at the mustard blood, anyone else might have passed the look as just another smile, but experience had taught you that the look the red-head had now was a calculating one, there was obviously something more to the troll, maybe another psiionic? Wouldn't surprise him at this point

"I want you to take thiz gentleman to the hive, I have a feeling he knowz hiz way with underwater machinery" said Robin

"Roger that!" said Jane

She swam to the troll grinning; he seemed quite amused by all of this

"Come on, let me show you the base!" said Jane

She then glances at you, you raise an eyebrow and roll your eyes when she just winks and leaves, the troll follows her without much talking, then you go back to watching the remaining too, the re-head is grinning now

"Well, now that that'z done with, what do you zay we move somewhere elze zo I can explain what iz going to happen?" asked Robin

She's looking at the troll, Karkat you remind yourself, you'll probably end up sailing with the troll, might as well remember his name, sure your sister might joke about you never going to the surface but you actually have no issues doing it, it just didn't really catch your attention until now, Jake was the adventurer, but you were needed this time, Robin had been rather vague in her first explanation saying they needed the troll before she could say anything else, you didn't question it and really you hardly ever do, but to be fair she's hardly eve wrong

==Stop being Benedict


	5. Prophecy

I suck at prophecy making, it doesn't even rhyme

5\. Prophecy

You stop being Benedict so we may go back to the more story-like setting of the first chapters, you believe it's fitting to the type of story being told; you will now let the writer do her job

Dirk Strider was eight when he first met the ruler of the Atlantic, he was now eighteen and Robin Aresta looked about the same age as back then. To be fair, she did have a good reason to appear this time, and if Dirk Strider had learned from their first meeting was that one didn't question the Atlantic ruler, otherwise things tended to go badly

The question was now, whether he was willing to sail with such a crew, he didn't mind Aresta all that much, but she told him she was going to bring two more, and while he wasn't exactly superstitious he did have his reasons not to trust merfolk, but Robin had just as many not to trust humans so he guessed it was fair enough, he still needed to tell his crew though, maybe should start with his first mate

"I heard you met with Robs" said Roxy

"Yeah, she's caught onto our plans, and her myth making instincts drove her to lisping with me" said Dirk

"Did you lisp back?" asked Roxy

"A little bit" said Dirk

"Yuss!" said Roxy

"So, thing is she'll be hopping out of water with two of her citizens, said something about a prophecy" said Dirk

As he was saying it he realized what he had to do and smirked, Roxy smiled knowingly

"Tell John to set a course, we'll be visiting his sister" Said Dirk

"Aye Captain!" said Roxy winking

The island Jade had claimed for herself was rather large, it was also impossible to find unless you were part fish, which was why they let John drive off-course and without course, generally you would get at least an approximate drawing of the course from the various maps on the back of his quarters, but that never works with Harley's island, granted, it barely works on normal expeditions but still; John has a special talent with wind currents and somehow gets them where they need to most of the time, he's aware that this would be an always if they had an actual cartographer of any sort, or at least a navigator

The travel there will take a while, he takes a text, a weird small object that turns brown when you burn it and sinks faster than rocks, and burn it to crave a message to the Atlantic ruler, he knows a small island nearby Jade's that's a lot easier to find and that has a small cavern which's only exit beside the entrance is an underwater tunnel, he figures it will make for a good common ground

==Swim back to Atlantis

Back to the castle Robin leads Karkat to the upper part of it, Benedict trailing behind to make sure no one is following them, he behaves like a bodyguard more than an actual bane, or at least Karkat thinks so, he's not entirely sure what banes really do, Benedict is the first one he met, he can't say the guy is annoying, more like overprotective, but Robin is an important figure that not everyone agrees with so it's fair

The room they enter has a stone table and is filled with magical communication devises, a shelf stood proudly on one side filled to the brim of books in every single language there was, or at least every language that people wrote in so far, also a few on Alternian and surprisingly syren, he noticed the faint aura coming of them that indicated they were properly protected from getting wet at all, the same had been done on the papers in the table, a sharpened scale glistened from a bottle of a liquid that looked every bit like ink but didn't move at all

Robin swims to the other side of the table into a particular structure of stone that Karkat can't find a name for and has a made compartment from which she pulls out a piece of enchanted paper, a smile painting her features in a brighter tone, for a second her blush seems violet-ish before it goes into the normal reddish colour humans have, she gives Benedict a look and then you before setting bright violet eyes on the paper

The island is just as bright as always, it clashes with islands of fellow witches, which is only fitting to the owner, one Jade Harley

The cabin is huge and well lit but full with everything a witch needs, which includes a collection of spell books in many languages

After all the crew has said hello, and received hugs from Jade, Dirk explains the situation to everyone and asks for the prophecy, Jade is happy to give it out without asking much, the prophecy says

 _The bane will light the way, storm will howl but be tamed by a song and he who was cursed by red will find that which the travellers seek_


	6. Introductions

My head cannons are that all merfolk is naturally good at anything that involves music, which includes dancing and instrument playing, and that fangs are retractile so they only show when they want for half-humans, half-trolls have no use for such thing. Also human form comes with free hoods not to be mistaken to those used by night vale residents ever

Had to cut the chapter due to lack of inspiration

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6\. Introductions

Walking in two legs was weird, Robin had them on this island with time to spend, which was a good thing because Karkat had never been on land before knowing that it would break the spell that hid his blood in grey, he was now being taught how to walk by the ginger queen herself, Benedict helps too, so far Karkat has managed to walk and run without falling too much, dancing is easier as it resembles swimming somehow, or maybe it's because of his marine half, he asked Robin but she can't quite explain it since everyone in merfolk can dance naturally so it could go either way, Benedict stays out of the dancing with the excuse of playing his flute, by the time the pirates are there he's walking as well as Benedict, not like Robin, she tells him that her grace is something she learned from sweeps of training, the fact that she uses the word sweep instead of year makes Karkat smile slightly. The queen is the one to approach the captain, moving like she's still floating in the water, and then signs for them to follow

The troll lets his eyes roam through the people he sees, the first one to catch his eye is the one dress flashier, by the ridiculous hat, he guesses he's the captain, he has blonde hair as far as he can see and black eyes for some reason, the next one he notices looks very much like the first only younger and has no ridiculous hat, the third one is a female that also looks like them but has pink eyes, she has a smaller version of the hat

"I like the welcoming crew, I zuppoze the rest iz in your zhip" said Robin

"I see you still apply the all welcome policy" said the captain

"Againzt what you may believe of me I don't actually make the professiez Ztrider, I juzt zee them through" said Robin

"With a troll?" he asked

Karkat growled at the sound of that, Benedict stepped up before he could do anything

"I'd recommend you'd watch your words human, the fangs are not just for show" said Benedict

An eyebrow rises at him, the male's attention on him as if he had just appeared in front of him; he then looked at Robin who smirked

"Thiz iz my kingdom'z bane, he likez to bite" said Robin

Benedict hissed lowly, his fangs flashing for a second, Karkat decided right there that he likes the merman, by the looks of it the pirate had reached a similar conclusion for he was smiling

"Hello again Dave, Roxy, been a while hazn't it?" said Robin

"Hello Robs! Nice to see you again" said Roxy

The smaller blonde, Dave apparently, gave only a slight nod, Karkat doesn't quite know what to think of him yet, he's weary of the older male, the female gives off a presence like Robin's, only much less experienced or aware, it occurred to him that she could make a good leader if she needed to, and to top it off she would probably take the reins if it came to it, he could appreciate that in someone

"I can zenze two of my kin in your zhip, I'm guezzing a male and a…

Violet eyes widened before a smile started forming on her lips

"And a little witch" she finished

Karkat saw a quick almost invisible outburst of magic coming from Benedict, while all mythic creatures could feel each other at a certain distance magical ones had much more showy reactions, the fact that the red head had caught on the presence was a huge sign of how much experience she really had

Dirk knew the look on the mermaid's face, he had seen it first when they met all those years ago, it was a good thing the mermaid looked about the same as back then, he finally decided to guide these three to the ship, he was still weary of the troll but he seemed just as weary of him so he could probably keep an eye on him, Robin was nothing if not a schemer and he knew this well enough to trust her better judgment, and it wouldn't be the first troll on the ship anyways, the red coloring on his eyes did interest him though, as far as he knew trolls didn't have that tone of red in their blood scheme, he would have to ask the on-board expert on that matter

Once on the ship a faint grayish-blue light covers the boat for a moment, followed by a much brighter violet light, they're answered by a green one from the opposite side, the first two overlap, the violet on top, and they both clash like waves upon the green one, such is the way merfolk of magic greet themselves and recognize they're there, seeing it is weird though, Dirk remembers his first encounter with Robin and her asking whether he had ever wondered about why the eyes of his family were different from other humans', and with his negative the comment of 'jeez kid, for a human you have a worrying lack of curiozity', they both had been ten years younger back then and she liked acting like some kind of immortal being just because she was a couple hundred older than him

Jade came out to greet them in person, only to scream in an extreme high pitch when she saw the red hair and run to her grabbing her hands

"By Calypso! You're- you're…

Robin chuckled

"Robin Arezta, yez, and you are Jade Harley, which in training" said Robin

"Oh my gods" said Jade

She was positively fuming, Dirk approached them smiling slightly

"Don't go killing my crew Aresta" he said

"I might not be able to ztop it" said Robin smiling

She then released herself before giving Jade a warm smile and looking at the ship, she smiled with a hint of nostalgia and pride, what a mess had this ship been

"I need to warm my troll becauze you apparently have one here" said Robin

She walks to where her companions are standing; she talks to them in the language of merpeople, the troll says a few things in Alternian but is soon reassured by the mermaid in, much to Karkat's surprise, the same language, it was the first time he heard her speak with no lisp, also the first time he had heard anyone related to humans speak it, mostly because humans didn't have the vocal chords for it, but Robin spoke it precisely toning it appropriately, it made him wonder just what exactly she was

Soon enough all seven crew members stood in front of Robin's group, Karkat made a point to looks at them; first he focused on the troll Robin had warned him about. She was a jade troll for what he could see, also a rainbow drinker if the fangs were anything to go by, that or a syren but he'd like to believe humans aren't that stupid. Then he moved to the human standing at her side, a female that resembled Roxy but with a much different air to her, Karkat figured that maybe in another place and another time she could've been a good sorceress of some kind, which was a mystery though, she had violet eyes that rivaled Robin's so trolls would probably listen to her, her skin was barely tanned despite her being a pirate. Then there was the witch, she had long wavy black hair and bright green eyes, she liked being out in the light if her skin was to tell, she had an exited smile

A boy much like the witch but with blue eyes stood smiling in the dorkiest way possible; Karkat immediately decided that he was annoying, whether or not he was right about this? Only time would tell; he's the last one of the crew it seems, he wonders if they're analyzing them as well, Robin said that if worse came to worse she would use her powers to protect him from the other troll, the fact that she hissed it at him in perfect Alternian had helped him believe it

Names flew right and left, positions did as well, the captain, Dirk was his name apparently, told Robin they needed a navigator and Robin all but dragged Benedict in front of her

"He haz a connection with ztarz, alzo a great inner compazz, let him take a look at the mapz" said Robin

Benedict shook her hands off him and gave her a glare that she smiled at, how in the world he could get away with such a thing was beyond Karkat; the merman then huffed and looked at the captain in the most annoyed way possible

"You'll take a look at them then?" asked Dirk

"Fine, whatever" said Benedict

"Works for me, this way" said Dirk

Violet eyes moved to the pale troll, a smile still on the freckled face, Karkat stayed behind her knowing fully it was a protective pose, one that said 'trade with caution or else'

==Meanwhile


	7. Those who seek

I was convinced into having the Cherubs in the story, they're the bad guys, I was going to make their first part count but I gave up on trying to write for Caliborn

Sorry for the delay, college will do that to you

* * *

7\. Those who seek

The magnificence that was the Juju when cutting the waves, pirates simply didn't appreciate the fine vessels, oh but he definitely did, and it was obvious in the way the sails fluttered in the wind, and in the way the wood echoed the footsteps of his men, the sky was clear and the wind was pushing them forward nicely, it would've been a nice sail if he hadn't had to bring his sister along, but he was one to know how fragile prophecies were and couldn't set sail without knowing it properly, for prophecies he needed his sister, oh if only one of his men were as swift with weaving the stars, but space was a rare element to control, though tempting the fates by bringing a woman into his ship was something he could take action on, if god were to try and punish this decision he would get rid of her before the rage got to the vessel, that he wouldn't mind

Calliope hung from a rope enjoying the breeze, sailing was far too wonderful, the wind on her face, the sound of the waves and the smell of the ocean, out here the stars were free and untouched, lighting up the sky, such beauty and so many stories, all them up there for her to enjoy, sailing was truly wonderful

She knew what fate awaited her if any inconvenience were to fall upon the Juju, it was the same fate that awaited her once the search was over considering what the stars told her, so she was to enjoy this trip as much as she could for as long as she could while making a plan, maybe the stars would show her a way to get a different fate once they crossed to the other hemisphere, she could always hope

===== Back to the Sburb

A compass on a crate besides one particularly complete map, a lamp giving a dim but useful light, metal tapping on paper under a starry sky. Benedict sighs, laying down the compass and brushing a hand through his hair

"Giving up so soon?"

He lets out something the blonde takes as a curse before moving his bluish-grey eyes to him

"I was really hoping I wouldn't have to use magic, but you humans are still so behind in geography, I'll have to draw the rest of this if we want to get anywhere"

"I'm not so sure about that, those aren't exactly the most current maps in the world"

"They are the most upgraded ones in your collection, so the situation hasn't changed"

Dirk hummed; then he brought a smaller crate near to sit down on

"Hope you don't mind having an audience" said Dirk

"No, thought I'd appreciate if you actually asked next time"

Dirk raised his hands in defense; Benedict rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing not paying mind to the pirate anymore

Robin sat on the crow's nest, her eyes looked around and then upwards, nose twitching every so often followed by licking her lips, they were close, but what lay ahead might break them, she would have to make sure that the first step they took into the Siren's territory would be a successful one, maybe keep the ship on one piece until they could explain their presence there, which would mean she would have to use her powers, that would need a good speech, maybe add a little charm to her words, not enough to alert Strider though

She gets down from her little perch and moves with the waves on her way, shifting ever so slightly so she won't put as much stress on her recently acquired feet, even if it wasn't the first time she had turned human for a long period of time, it wa still rather uncomfortable if she wasn't cautious on her movements, she would have to pass this information to the ones who hadn't been humans before, yet another reason to head towards Dirk as the young captain was apparently watching Benedict work

This was interesting to say the least, she had noticed Dirk liking the brunet's attitude but the blonde seemed actually interested, she wonders how that will play out and hopes it ends well for both parties, a fight wouldn't be good if they wanted to make it out alive from this trip, she cleared her throat caching Dirk's attention

"There are a few thingz I'd like to dizcuzz with you two"

Benedict sighed and looked up as well, she knew him well enough to know he was annoyed, too many interruptions perhaps, Dirk glanced at him before nodding at Robin, she smiled

"Well, firzt thingz firzt, there'z a ztorm in our path and I'm afraid we can't evade it leazt we make our trip longer"

"But you have a solution for that I imagine"

Benedict looked sideways at Dirk when he spoke and then gave Robin a questioning look, she gave him a sheepish smile

"He knowz me a little too well"

"That aside I would like to know what you plan to do with my ship"

"Juzt a little protection zpell, you know, zing a little, make zure we don't crazh or zink, that zort of thing"

Dirk sighed but then nodded; Robin chirped happily, Benedict glanced from one to the other wondering how long they had known each other; they seemed to get along swiftly

"Ah, I alzo would like to zpeak with you and Karkat about walking, you two have never been humanz for zuch a long period of time and I can't have you hurting yourzelvez"

Benedict sighed

"Seriously, you should've remembered that when we were on the island"

"It'z ok, better actually all thingz conzidered"

Robin glanced at some point far away; the ocean surrounded them in its blueness

"But I ztill have to tell Karkat, zo you can finizh what you were doing"

She winked, Benedict rolled his eyes at her, she was obviously trying to set something up, what in particular was a mystery, and if Benedict knew anything about one Robin Aresta it was that she wouldn't let it go easily

The wind picked up, the horizon was painted dimly, a cluster of grayed clouds, heavy and tense, the sea was unsettled, it was going to be one hell of a storm


	8. The Storm

I had a little fun with the beginning of this one

Ok, I had fun with all of it

Also can we talk about the fact that my inspiration is fueled by the weirdest things?

* * *

8\. The Storm

The sea was playing a tune of wild rage, the sky marking the compass, dim lightning and dangerous wind, wood weaving almost as if dancing; a vessel enters the storm

So many different rhythms she could follow, so many melodies, in a normal day any alone would make for a strong enough spell, but the combination? Let's just say that if Robin hit the right notes, she could probably save the Sburb and any other ship on a twenty miles' radius, she then decided that it was probably more and that she really shouldn't be measuring things that way this early on, she let out a chuckle, she should really stop shifting like that

Then the thought came to her that word couldn't have escaped the ears of that one particular being, she frowned a sneer on her lips, if he wanted to try and go where they were heading there would be hell to pay, she still had to make due for lat time, maybe she could send some sirens their way once she located that damned vessel, a smirk formed on her lips, her flying relatives would be eager to help

Steps made their way to her, a familiar presence besides her, it always impressed her how easily he could calm her, his aura was like cool waves on a hot summer day, he didn't have to say anything, she sighed

"I'm fine, I zwear, nowhere near that plasse, now go to zleep"

He sighed but didn't move, she glanced at him, grayish-blue eyes looked at the cloudy sky

"I can't, I hate storms"

She relaxed completely and nodded, it was wise to be weary of nature when one was so close to it

"Let's talk about something else"

She laughed at that, he groaned, she affected him greatly it seemed

"Well, how are you enjoying your firzt time az a human?" asked Robin

"Walking is tiresome, but I'm holding up I guess" said Benedict

"That you are" agreed Robin

"Are you going to question me about the crew next?" asked Benedict

"I tend to forget that for zomeone zo much younger than I, you zeem to know me better than anyone" said Robin

Benedict sighed rolling his eyes, a comeback on the tip of his tongue most likely, but he kept to himself

"But no, it'z barely been a couple dayz zince we began this adventure, and I don't think you've interacted with anyone bezidez Karkat, Dirk and me" explained Robin

"It doesn't feel like all that long" commented Benedict

"Traveling by boat will do that to you, but time will catch up zoon enough, firzt though, I need you to wake everyone up, we're about to enter the ztorm"

Right on cue rain started to fall down, gaining speed slowly, the win gaining force, when the sails made the wood crack Benedict sprung to action, and raced to the crew's cabins

He immediately saw Karkat and woke the troll up telling him what was going on quickly before rushing back up and to the higher part of the ship, to the captain's cabin

He knocked and was surprised when he was met with a very much awake Strider, did the man sleep at all, something caught his eyes then, the orbs that had been black through the entirety of the trip were now a different color, but that would have to wait

"We are entering a storm Captain" said Benedict before he could be asked anything

The eyes of the other, now an oddly familiar orange, widened before he rushed past him and to the deck where Robin was now talking with one of the crew members, John if he remembered correctly, he followed shortly, what for he didn't know

"Aresta, you better have a good damn plan, or this will be a rough night" said Dirk

"Way ahead of you Ztrider, now John keep the zailz in the right direction" said Robin

The other glanced at Dirk who was looking at Robin, who was looking back defiantly

"You heard her Egbert"

"Aye captain"

The young man was off, the others started coming out of the cabins, Dirk started barking orders, soon everyone was moving except for Karkat, Robin and himself

"Benedict I need you and Karkat to make the crew immune to zung magic"

The troll looked his way before nodding, he nodded as well before making a b line for the troll, he didn't quite trust the other, but he had enough magic to get a hang of one of Robin's potions, so he would have to make due

"I can help with that too" said a chirpy voice

Benedict had almost forgotten that there was a witch on the ship, one that had at some point been a mermaid if Robin was to be believed, which she generally was, he smiled at her, Jade was her name he remembered

"Good, now we wait, if it doezn't get worze I'll let you handle it" said Robin

The last part was directed at Dirk who was now manning the helm, he grinned broadly, orange eyes sparkling a bit, Benedict wondered where he had seen that color before

"Bring it on!"

-Somewhere else-

Slowly but surely the storm worsened, but that didn't matter, he shouted orders left and bright, grinning madly, he had felt it, written in the unexplainable concept that was time as an aspect, it was in the guidelines of numbers and ticks, and he was too joyous to be mad at the fact that his vessel would probably suffer the consequences of him diving head first in what started as a mild rain bu was now a true monster's tantrum, the queen of the merpeople, the seemingly immortal half-fish sorcerer that wasn't even quite a mermaid either, the one who had been behind that one incident, the one he had sent back to the deepest of the ocean, it had been too long since he battled anyone on that level, and he was going to do it again, Robin Aresta would fall once more, easily too because this time her little page was nowhere in the spectrum, oh but first he would make the most of her presence, if she was here the prince and his crew was probably accompanying, oh this would be so sweet

-…-

A lone voice broke through the sound of falling water and raging wind, melodically and expertly and the air started tainting a pinkish violet

One zhip zailz through the ztormy ocean

Weaving zwiftly through the rumbling rain

A ship appeared in the distance, far away enough that they wouldn't see nor meet with the other ship in the course

Wavez will cruzh you but won't drown you

For I'm giving thiz zhip my mermaid'z blezz

Two grins, one ready to defy nature by fighting against its outburst, the other planning ahead on what he believed to be a certain victory

Deep and zhallow but the zky won't crumble

Upon thy vezzel long as my voisse rizez

Grayish blue, bright green and candy red surrounded the other vessel softly as the bright pinkish-violet light became even briter

Raged out zea will ever zee you gentle

For I'm giving thiz zhip my mermaid'z blezz

He cursed loudly and called his sister, demanding she protect them from the aftermath that would come from entering the range of a song such as this

Lizten zlowly to my tale of incantation

Rezt well zailorz blezzed by my mermaid tail

Of course she had felt him, of course she would react accordingly, cursed overly-intelligent monster, but he had an ace this time, the ocean would have to wait to taste his blood again

Zhifting zoftly the movement will rock you

Zleep now zailorz with my lullaby azzuring

That I'm giving his zhip my mermaid'z blezz

The storm continued, but the other ship wasn't affected, it wasn't moving like his vessel, no screams of panicked men trying to keep it afloat, no chaos nor mayhem, lime green surrounded the vessel and calm was soon to follow, he would have to do something about her reaction time later, for now, they had a storm to navigate


	9. Back Stories: Captain Dirk Strider

I had the single weirdest, most random dream in the history of any dream I ever had

How that translated into this? Not even I can say

I'm weird

Shout out to all the little moments in this fic where characters are actually in character

9\. Back stories: Captain Dirk Strider

Once the sky cleared the pulse of magic coming from Robin stopped, without the force to pull against the three of them stumbled, Benedict was the worse as he had made sure that he would take most of the load, his sight was blurry and his aura oversensitive, at such a level in fact that he could feel the small almost unnoticeable magic coming from the two Striders, a spell much like the one Karkat had been using when they first met, only it didn't last more than a day as he could now sense the constant applications, Dave still had black eyes so he was faster at doing it than Dirk whose real eye color he had been able to see if only for a few minutes, they had gone back to the black he was more used to but the orange was engraved on his memory, if only he could place where he had seen it before

Robin was used to forgetting things that didn't have much to do with anything important, or rather they were filed in the back of her mind for when they were, right now the fact that the Strider brothers hid their real eye color with magic was the one thing to come back from there, sure she had it in mind more frequently than other things, mostly because she could constantly feel the soft hum of energy they radiated, but she had forgotten what color the eyes had looked beneath the black and now she was trying to put the pieces together as to why it seemed important all of the sudden, she sighed as she knew thinking too hard about it would get her nowhere

Dirk glanced at the mermaid knowingly, she was having troubles with something, last night she hadn't been as excited as he remembered her getting over particularly wild storms, something had been in her mind but had disappeared into concentration once the storm worsened, the new navigator seemed to be on edge as well, glancing her way every now and then, it made him wonder just how much the merman knew Robin

Dirk Strider knew better than anyone that befriending one Robin Aresta was no game, sure the mermaid had the qualities of a good friend, but where she went trouble followed, that he had learned on his own, he could still remember their first meeting even though it had been so long ago

It had been eight years ago, or four sweeps as Robin preferred to say, he was young and stupid and knew nothing about relationships, and he had fallen in love with a merman that had gotten himself stuck on the town he lived with his family, after being turned into human by the lack of water they other was stuck, Dirk was the one to find him and since the other had no way to get back home like this Dirk was the only option

Him falling in love with a creature that was made for beauty was no surprise, the other trying to escape as soon as he could was a bit hurting but deserved, the queen of the Atlantic herself showing up to take the merman back home was however incredible and surprising, even the merman had been surprised

Robin was only 56 sweeps back then, or rather 112 human years old, she was young as well, but much more mature, after helping the boy, the merman apparently was Dirk's age, back into fins and tail she gave Dirk the scolding of a lifetime, but one couldn't be angry when being scolded by a magical creature that was older than any creature should be, there wa also that feeling that surrounded Robin, powerful in too many ways

After clearing the mess Robin told him she would get Jake, and here the merman looked at her in confusion, as if wanting to know how he knew his name, somewhere safe and would come back at night to discuss a few things with Dirk

The teen waited for her on that spot, because that's what you do when an ancient magical mermaid tells you she'll be back, you wait for her. Luckily Robin did comeback and after teaching Dirk about a few things , actually had a normal conversation with him, she asked how things were in the world as she hadn't been on land for a long time, when he failed to answer she told him he had a worrying lack of curiosity, which he countered with the fact that he was still there

The encounter repeated itself many times, mainly because Robin was bored out of her mind, when the blonde told her he wanted to be a pirate and sail the seas with his brother and cousins, discovering treasures and living amazing adventures, the mermaid led him to a ship; a fine vessel with a weird name, getting it was chaos in itself but what followed after was worse, even Jake was thrown into the mix together with a mermaid named Jane, how they had gotten out alive and well was still a mystery to him

He had to admit Benedict seemed to actually know what he was doing, much unlike the previous royal company, he wondered if they were related, it was a maybe. The merman was now chatting with Jade it seemed, probably talking about magic considering Jade's expressions, the troll Robin had dragged along was with them

"It Is Very Uncommon For A Mutant To Act So Freely in Public"

Speaking of trolls

"Though My Judgment Might Not Be to Be Believed Considering I've Never Seen A Living One"

Kanaya had been an odd addition to the crew, though thinking about it John and Jade weren't any better, the rainbowdrinker troll, Dirk still had troubles not making an ironic comment about the name, was proper and calm, way different that what you'd expect of a pirate, but she could and would cut you in half if you crossed her

"So he's a mutant, wait, he is a he, right?"

Kanaya raised an eyebrow at him

"I Do Believe Karkat's A Male, Yes. He Also Has Candy Red Blood, His Eyes Show As Much, Which Is A Mutation For Trolls"

Dirk nods, because why in the world wouldn't the troll Aresta included to his crew be just as much of a mess as everyone else on board, kinda made him wonder what would make Benedict one, the guy seemed completely normal so far


	10. Back stories: Jade Harley (& John Egbert

I did a marathon on The Hobbit, I do not regret it

10\. Back stories: Jade Harley (and John Egbert)

Benedict turned out to be quite knowledgeable about magic, Jade was surprised with how much he knew

"Well, I'm a bane, which is a magical role, and I have to deal with Robin so I have to know as much as I can"

Jade nodded, that made sense. They talked about the crew then, Benedict was curious as he hadn't had the chance to speak with many, mainly he was interested in John and herself as they were merpeople at some point

"It's kind of a long story, and I was asleep for the most part so I can't tell you much, John might confuse you if you ask him, but I bet it's because he remembers it in parts"

Benedict blinked repeatedly, then frowned, then sighed; it was an odd transition that was finished with him staring off into the sea

"You know, you kind of remind me of my sister, I'm sure you two would get along if you ever met"

Jade smiles at that, it's odd traveling with other merfolk, even though she's very excited about being able to talk with the ruler of merpeople, sometimes she wondered what would have happened to her and her brother had they not become humans. It was indeed a long story, one she barely even remembered, John told her what he knew

They had escaped successfully, hiding in an underwater cave, problem was the monster was still swimming nearby and the only other exit was on shore, John says Jade started mumbling something in her sleep, green light illuminated the cave and next thing he knew they both had legs, he had to drag them both out of the water and said Dad would probably have been proud of him, he said there were salamanders in the cave and that they helped getting them out, it wa still funny to Jade but John was intent on the fact that they were saved by salamanders

Once they made the surface they were on an island, but then John heard a voice, a human voice, the prospect of a human was far less threatening than the monster, especially since he could probably sing her into unconsciousness if needed. It turned out that the human was a good person, one with a ship that headed far away from there, when Jade woke up she met the Stri-londe family

The rest wa bits and pieces of what John declared to be the most confusing thing he lived, what Jade did remember was the end of it all, the sea covered in pinkish-violet light, and Dirk curing under his breath in the language of merfolk no less, something along the lines of 'damn it Aresta'

Jade learned much later about Robin Aresta, he already knew the name but the fact that she had been helping Dirk and the others was a surprise, her brother discovering how to handle his aspect wa to be expected though, it was obvious that breath wouldn't be easy under water

They made it back to the island where they found them, John decided to stay with them, Jade still had to learn how to control her own aspect so she swam away from the island, after much traveling, and befriending a white wolf, she found an island hidden by the currents, the winds and the creatures, she established herself there, made herself a home, made friends with the creatures, later with two passing sirens that had lost their way, she asked them to deliver a message to her brother if they happened upon him, luckily they did because a few months after the Sburb appeared in the distance

Eight years had passed rather fast now that she thought about it, though that's the con of submerging yourself in magical studies she guessed, she still had issues with space, maybe Benedict could help, Robin had mentioned something about him being connected with the stars

"Hey Benedict, do you by chance have space as an aspect?"

"Yeah, guess you do as well"

"Could you explain it to me?"

Grayish-blue eyes met jade green, he then sighed looking upwards, then his eyes glanced somewhere else, Jade followed to see Robin sitting on the crow nest feet swinging, then he went back to looking at her

"I might as well try"


	11. Back Stories: Benedict Doe

The merpeople have two kingdoms, one on the north and one on the south, it's a matriarchal society, that is to say women rule, in this case mermaids

11\. Back stories: Benedict Doe

Jade turned out to be really good at studying once he started using nature as example, he explained that space had to do with room and size, and that it also had to do with quantity and lack, it was a rare aspect because of its mystery, little was known about the actual thing, when Jade asked what he was talking about he claimed that was exactly it, they didn't know space was even a thing

Kanaya joined them later, adding her own input, Jade had forgotten the rainbow drinker also had space as an aspect, mainly because she was a normal troll, not marine side at all, but trolls worked weirdly for her, latter the two females asked on the story of how Benedict had met Robin, though Kanaya was more curious as to whether it was true that she was as old as she claimed to be, which received an affirmative

It all started with a game of hide and seek with Casidy, she was too young to notice when she entered the royal gardens and when Benedict found her the game turned into hide from the guards, they were found out by young looking merman who helped them get into the castle without being noticed and finally they got to meet the queen, to be completely honest, Robin had looked basically the same as she did then, a bit shorter only, she received them in the castle and asked for their names and how they got there, Robin seemed to find it amusing that her guards hadn't seen Casidy get in and made a few jabs at the younger merman who happened to be named Gregory and was related to her by blood, he raised his hand in defense

"If you'd let me bring my mates to the castle maybe the security could be improved"

Robin let out a loud laugh and told him that maybe once they all hit mating age, to which Gregory smiled widely before swimming away saying something about telling them

The rest of the day was spent with Robin showing them the entirety of the castle and it's garden, when they got to the room of the kingdom's sorcerer the merman was working there was convinced by the queen to let them try their hand at one of the spells the merman had failed to cast so far, it was an invoking spell that should make a simple goldfish appear, Casidy managed to make a few clown fish swim around her, but they had been there before so they didn't count, Benedict tried and managed to create a very small goldfish but a goldfish nonetheless and the sorcerer was impressed, insisting on having him as his apprentice, after that things got blurry, he just know he somehow became pretty close to the queen, great with magic, met a bunch of merfolk who were good at handling their aspects, except this one merman named Jake who didn't quite grasp the concept of hope, and latter became the kingdom's bane as the old sorcerer left to serve the queen's older sister. Somewhere along the way Casidy got in the kingdom's army and somehow got them to train them in fighting, sometimes she said they were lucky she had decided to hide in the castle all those years before but once she hit age for mating it was obvious that she was destined to go to the place, she was tied to Gregory who was a blushing mess when he found out, it was nice really, he was glad, latter Robin put Casidy in charge of international relations arguing that it'd be good with her aspect and that was when Benedict knew she had planned it all out

"That was when I learned that there are no coincidences when one works with Robin Aresta"

"And you zhould never forget that"

Benedict turned unimpressed to the redhead while the other two looked somewhat surprised but no worse for wear, Benedict had to hand it to them

"But dezpite what you may believe I only had a zuzpission firzt, but magic reactz ssertain wayz to different azpect uzerz so my doubtz dezappeared when I zaw you perform tha zpell, clazzez are even more telling"

With a finishing wink she went away, Benedict rolled his eyes and stood up

"If you two excuse me, I have some maps and stars to read"


	12. A familiar name

I'm finishing my first year of college, please be nice

12\. A familiar name

The sky cleaned but the ocean was covered in mist, a tell tale sign of them crossing into siren territory, John was in the sails so he could still see what awaited them, birds of different colors flew above a rocky shore, figures, half-creature half-something else, sat on them looking, analyzing, waiting, their ship was approaching them. He was the first to see Robin get out of the crow's nest and land perfectly into the fog covered wood, once she did the fog tinted a slight pinkish-violet, the color of the mermaid's eyes, she walked to the forerd were the captain was leaning, Benedict was nearby, the merman was serious but Jade said he knew a lot about magic and space, he still didn't know what to think of the guy

Black eyes looked straight up at him, Dirk had times where he didn't speak much, but they all had learned to know what he wanted anyway, Dave had to translate the first few times though, he got down from the sails and walked to the two, the mermaid's eyes were still in the horizon, soon the rest of the crew was there as well

"Don't let them fool you, there's nothing human nor troll on sirens"

Robin finally pried his eyes away from the rock to move them to the captain

"Zirenz can be quite the problem for pirates, but they zhouldn't affect any merfolk in thiz form"

Wings sprouted from their backs and talons divided into a third finger for bird-like feet, unlike harpies they still had their arms and no beaks, their eye followed the ship as it approached, Robin glanced at Benedict and nodded once, the merman sighed but his hands started glowing

A beam of grayish-blue light cut through the fog into the sky, a figure took off from the rocks and flew to them, the feathers that covered most of the body were a dark blue and the parts that weren't covered were a recognizable shade of grey, so this one was half-troll, the horns also backed this up, one curved upwards and the other downwards, like all sirens it was a female, probably the strongest among them, Robin stood before her

"Apore Loery if my memory doezn't fail me"

The siren made a slight bow before speaking in English, thankfully

"Rob1n 4re5t4, 1t'5 been 4 wh1le"

Robin nodded, her eyes trained on the siren

"Thiz crew iz aiding me on an important matter, for which I need to crozz your territory"

"1 re4lly don't m1nd th4t, but 1 don't th1nk th4t'5 the only re45on you h4d th4t b4ne c4ll for me"

Robin sighed before nodding again, Benedict seemed on edge and Dirk followed suit, then Roxy and Karkat, Jade frowned, there was a sudden pressure in the air, John was sure everyone else felt it as well

"I want to warn you about a ssertain zomeone coming thiz way, I'm zure your people will be more than glad to 'entertain' him"

The siren was surrounded by a dark-blue light, her expression one of held anger

"4nd 1 tru5t you'll g1ve me the n4me"

Robin smirked, a hint of danger surrounded her, her voice resonated in the air

"Lord Eglizh, or rather Caliborn"

The Juju was far away enough that they wouldn't be seen but they could see the other ship, thought not the crew, but that didn't matter Caliborn knew this waters well

"First official, make the crew wary, we're heading into siren land, and we will definitely be attacked"

Calliope stood on the crow's nest, her senses screamed danger at her, she had heard of the Sburb and its crew, and knew they had encountered her brother before but she ignored what exactly was that Caliborn had done to piss off sirens, it was going to be quite the rocky trip

Dirk looked at Robin in surprise before glancing at Roxy, that name was one they could remember very well, he wondered for a moment if an old enemy also meant to see old friends again, he could do with dealing with Caliborn but if the merpeople duo from the north were to appear, well he didn't have any issues with Jade, Jake on the other hand… yeah, it was better to not talk about it


	13. Final goal

Literally I'm just ugh, like I know what I want to happen but like it was so hard writing this chapter, I skipped a lot in this story actually, might have to write drabbles of the missing parts later

Sorry for the delay, finals will do that to you

* * *

13\. Final goal

After passing through siren pass, as Robin said the place was called, they sailed into unclaimed territory; luckily the water wasn't deep enough for any dangerous monster, although Robin claimed any monster could be dangerous if provoked enough. Dave made a comment about sharks to which Karkat said that some mertrolls kept them as pets, which ended up on Dave asking for a pet shark

"When did those two become that close?"

"You were too buzy to notisse it, but we've been zailing for monthz now, it waz bound to happen"

She looked directly at his eyes, as if right through him, a smirk made its way on her face

"The interezt in interzpessiez relationzhipz zeemz to run in the family"

"I'm starting to believe Roxy might be the only one normal of us"

"I wouldn't hold on to that, thiz iz juzt my intuition talking though zo feel free to ignore it"

"That has never turned out well for me before"

Robin laughed at that, she then seemed to get more serious; Dirk had a feeling he knew where this was going

"They're not the only onez I've been checking"

"I figured"

"Look, you're not a kid anymore Dirk, and thiz one iz kind of important to me zo, hurt them and I'll rip you apart and zcatter your remainz for the zyrenz to eat"

"I forget how gore-y you actually are"

"There'z a good reazon why mermaidz are one of the creaturez feared by men"

She then took her eyes out of him, favoring the approaching island in the distance; it was unsettling to have her still be serious

"There might come a day when we're no longer in contact with land-dwelerz, when humanz forget all about the creaturez that onsse hunted them and wonder why they fear the ossean"

Finally a soft smile, tiny but a smile nevertheless, appeared on her features

"But even if that day comez, we will ztill live in the old talez and mythz, becauze humanity lovez magic far too much, and that'z why I'll make az many mythz az I can while I ztill can"

She then looked at him with a different kind of smile, one he had seen only once before, it told him to be prepared for a fight where they would risk their lives, not like there was any other kind for them

"I'm not going to let that blazted cherub ztop me from doing it"

"You will be the death of me, I hope you know"

"I bet you zay that to everyone, zpessially yourzelf"

"It never stops being true"

That cursed mermaid, sirens were so very bothersome; luckily they stopped attempting to attack his vessel once they crossed the border, which meant that this was unclaimed territory. As big as the oceans were, they all belonged to one group or another except one in particular, the waters that surrounded a particular island, the one island they were heading to

One of his men announced their approaching to land, and he had to correct him, this wasn't just any land, this was the very point of a terribly dangerous triangle, which one of them he didn't know and he didn't care, all three were equally cursed anyway

"Captain!"

Benedict hurried to the two, grayish blue eyes trained on Dirk, he looked partly exited, partly worried and a bit of a third thing that was hard to pin point

"Yes master Doe?"

Robin gave Dirk an amused smile that the other two ignored

"We'll be arriving at the island tomorrow morning if not this night"

Dirk finally looked at Robin, who raised an eyebrow at him

"I hope you know what you're doing"

"Have I ever dizapointed you?"

Dirk nodded, gaze turning back to Benedict

"Tell John to get the wind working, we're getting there today"

"Aye Captain"

Once Benedict left Robin laughed, Dirk looked at her confued

"It'z been very long zinsse I've lazt zeen Ben zo… carefree, he'z juzt zo zettled in I fear our departure might break him inztead"

The ship was soon moving faster, clothing and hair being blown up by the counter-wind

"Well, I guezz there are thingz even I don't know"

With that aid she walked away, Dirk tried to find any hidden messages in her words only to get what he already knew, which meant this was one of the rare occasions in which the queen had been entirely honest. Maybe he should do that as well, he really doubted they could pull another stunt like the one from eight years ago, not this far from an actual port at least, though he had the suspicion Robin had a similarly dangerous plan prepared this time, though all things considered it might work out better with this particular crew


	14. The end of the journey

Honestly, this chapter is so self indulgent

Have fun!

14\. The end of the journey

=== ?

I would like to say it all came as a surprise, but lying is more of Robin's thing, and to be honest I don't think it'd be believable at this point, however I will save you the painful search for our prize, which the before mentioned mermaid had still to even describe to us, and go right into the problems, all you need to know about our treasure is that it is the main reason I'm telling you this right now

Once they got to the island they searched for the treasure following Robin's directions, Benedict helped figure them out, Dirk commented on how he would've been very useful in any other of the adventures Robin had pulled them into, to which Robin answered that he wa busy doing his job , which Benedict translated into him learning how to be a bane

They hit the marked spot after many hours, the one to find it, much like in the prophesy, was Karkat, who recognized the markings on the rock as Alternian, that is to say troll language for mertrolls, Kanaya said there was a slight yet important difference that made her incapable of read it, so Karkat was the one to do the honors and take the bag inside, mostly because he knew how to do it without activating any traps, though once the bag was out a gunshot rung on the air, Robin was glowing before anyone else could move, Dirk had his sword out and Roxy had pulled out her guns, then the others took out their respective weapons. In front of them stood a cherub and his crew, one the three standing closer knew better than the rest; it started with a simple phrase

"I think you have something I want"

And then hell broke loose…

Robin had a plan, as expected, she made a distraction and told them to go in separate groups, she had Benedict do copies of the bag but not the contents, Jade filled the fake bags with a special powder that would explode when opened, so if the bait got captured they would only have one chance to escape, Robin was going to try and lure Caliborn alone and told Roxy to take care of his sister, she gave the original to Benedict

"Lizten Doe, I'm allowing you to break the lawz of merfolk, uze the chansse wizely"

Benedict gave a half-smile and bowed, with that said he went away, Dirk followed him after a violet glare in his direction, he didn't look back once, didn't know what would become of the rest of this unlikely crew. When all was said and done Dirk was going to sail back home and maybe stay there for a while, away from monsters and crazy pirates, though maybe he would have some company this time around, that would probably bring him more problems than not… seriously, at this point, when did it not?

Dave ended up running away with Karkat, a few men on their track, but the mertroll was swift now that he had gotten used to walking and running, almost like he had been at it for a while, he wondered about Dirk and Roxy, then he felt sorry for whoever decided it was a good idea to give chase to Rose and Kanaya, as far as he knew all females were terrifying, well he didn't know if that applied to Jade but he'd bet that she was terrifying when she wanted to be, John never told him the answer to that though

Dirk and Benedict somehow ended up on the enemy's ship, Benedict had a plan that was a bit Aresta styled but with a slight twist so it wouldn't blow out of proportions a anything the two rulers of merpeople did tended to do. Dirk was far more amused than he probably should be at the comment, and decided to give the bane a hand in doing the little stunt, mainly because it was rather ingenious. It consisted on bringing as many men as possible so that Benedict could knock them all out with his singing magic, the only problem with the plan was that he couldn't concentrate on protecting Dirk from collateral damage, he tells the pirate he has a way to keep him safe from magic effects for a long enough time but has refused to tell him anything about the method, Dirk hopes it doesn't involve anything too crazy

For a moment, midlist the careful pursue Caliborn's doing without knowing he's being deceived, Robin wonders if anything will take form before they have to all go back home, she's pretty cure Cassie will be okay with either outcome, well maybe not the one Robin fears, she then remember what she told Benedict and smiles because if he uses singing magic then something will definitely happen, oh if only she could be there to witness it

The plan involved them getting on board of the Juju without dying, which was easier than they though as most men had left the ship to run after their crew mates, the few that were there joined the ones that had been following them and Benedict ended up having quite the audience, he knew that there was no backing down now, before they surrounded them he turned to look at the captain and prayed to every god of the sea that the man would forgive him as he pulled him down on his level

Now Dirk hadn't known what to expect really, but in the fraction of a moment where he was being pulled towards Benedict his mind flashed with the possibility of betrayal, even though thanks to Jade he knew that to be improbable, then they crashed and everything stopped

Wet, of course they were, somewhat warm and definitely smaller, lips connected with his probably chapped ones, Benedict's eyes were forcefully closed, and remained like that a few seconds after he separated himself from the other, Dirk was left standing there star-struck trying to make sense of what had just happened and then Benedict started singing, much like with victory he could hear the words clearly but by the scenery around him they did not affect him, the song was entirely on merfolk tongue, so he didn't understand much of what it said, but Benedict's voice was clear like water, wild like the ocean, hearing merpeople sing was always quite overwhelming, but this… it was breathtaking

The song finished and Benedict breathed out before setting to check the damage, he didn't make any comments on what had just happened, didn't really say a word until he finally turned around to look at him, grayish-blue eyes widening

"Your eyes"

Dirk made a quick movement to see his reflection in the clean part of his sword, the effects were supposed to last long enough so maybe it had to do with Benedict's magic; that made him realized he was being stared at. The bane had come closer while he was pondering, his entire being seemed to be shaking but there was no fear, not of him at least

"Can I… try something"

He seemed nervous, there was also a linger of hope, he was quick to continue

"I just… the color's so familiar"

It was then that Dirk understood, he knew it was important for merfolk, Robin had made sure of it the last time, though back then the process didn't exactly have the best results. If it failed again… Benedict was hopeful, and nervous but damn if Dirk wasn't too; the new navigator had probably seen the worst of him in the trip, and yet had laughed at the cliché, he had also started helping him, saying that he had helped Robin in its moment and that he could never cause him as much trouble; Robin would probably kill him if he didn't go along with this, for mainly the same reasons as she had gotten mad at Jake last time; there was also the fact that Dirk maybe, possibly, definitely, had a soft spot for the brunet, so he nodded and Benedict swallowed

Benedict's magic felt similar to how it looked, like a welcome water rush in the hottest day, it even smelled like the sea though Dirk didn't know if that was because of their location, the spell didn't require singing but it did concentration, though it took the bane much less time than he thought it would, soon a pair of brightly colored birds appeared, one of them shared the same color with Benedict's eyes, the other… was a well known shade of orange, he heard a shaky breath and brought his eyes back to Benedict, who was looking at them too, a tentative smile forming in his lips, he looked back at him

Gunshots were approaching them fast, together with what could be described as maniacal laughter, Robin appeared then and took them with her right before an angry cherub got into the ship, Dirk had never liked teleporting but Benedict helped him stabilize, when he thanked the merman he received a different smile than before, right then he thought that this was the most beautiful being in existence, or maybe being connected to Benedict was affecting him, he didn't care either way


End file.
